FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a dental mask and, more particularly, to a dental
mask having an anti-flow and fogging function, the dental mask not moving out of the
ridge of the nose because it does not slip down even if a user talks with the mask
on, preventing glasses from be fogged, and preventing leakage because both sides of
the mask body is kept in close contact with the cheeks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In general, a mask is a product that covers the nose and mouth to block external
cold air, prevent inhalation of bacteria, dust, etc., and block splashes. Various
types of masks are sold in accordance with the use including a winter mask made of
fabric, etc., an industrial mask having a combination of various filters to be able
to block even fine dust, and a dustproof mask. As World Health Organization (WHO)
has recently proclaimed global Pandemic due to corona virus infection (COVID-19) after
SARS and MERS, the interest in masks has increased and wearing a mask has become daily
work, so a mask has become a necessary item when people go out.
[0003] A mask can show the effect thereof when it is normally worn to cover the nose and
the mouth, but it is difficult to breathe when the nose and the mouth are both covered.
Accordingly, some people wear a mask without the nose covered or wear a mask on the
chin without both of the nose and mouth being covered. In particular, recently, Korean
government has enforced an administrative measure of making it duty to wear a mask
when going out due to re-spread of COVID-19, but quarrels frequently occur because
of people who do not wear a mask in publicly used facilities, public transportation,
or public places. However, the problem that most people experience when wearing a
mask is that even though they normally wear a mask, the mask slips down and moves
out of the ridge of the nose and does not cover the nose during conversation, so the
users have to repeat covering the nose with the mask by holding and pulling up the
mask body by hand. Further, there is another severe problem that since they hold and
pull up the mask body by hand, the virus sticks to the hand, which is a reason of
infection.
[0004] Further, the most inconvenient thing that the people who wear glasses feel when wearing
a mask is that the glasses are fogged by exhalation (the steam of breath) and the
view is obstructed even though they do not have a conversation with a mask on, so
they are very inconvenienced. Further, there is a problem that they have to frequently
take off the glasses to look at the front.
[0005] In order to solve this problem, a "mask that is easily worn and prevented from slipping
down", a "mask with a tightener", etc. have been disclosed in
Korean Patent Nos. 1418787,
1651728, etc., respectively, but the mask bands are configured to surround the head in the
disclosures, so this configuration is difficult to apply to a disposable mask worn
only once.
[0006] Meanwhile, the 3D mask of sanitary masks has a nose ridge contact cover, which is
placed on the ridge of the nose and supports the mask to prevent slipping-down, on
the top of a dome-shaped mask body and a chin cover that supports the chin, in which
the nose ridge contact cover and the chin cover are separately provided. Further,
a 2D mask has a structure in which a central upper end of a mask shape is held on
the ridge of the nose, so the masks relatively slip down little even though users
have a conversation with the masks on.
[0007] However, as for dental masks or surgical masks, since the mask body has a rectangular
shape and a nose wire is embedded in the upper end of the mask body, there is a problem
that when a user talks with the mask on, the face moves, so the mask unavoidably slips
down. Further, the mask body cannot block the gaps formed by the curved portions at
both sides of the ridge of the nose due to the structural problem of the mask body,
so there is a problem that glasses are severely fogged due to exhalation (the steam
of breath). Further, both sides of the mask body having a rectangular shape come off
from the cheeks of the wearer without being in close contact with the cheeks when
the mask is worn, so there is a severe problem that leakage occurs or various viruses
or dust enter through the gaps.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL PROBLEM
[0008] The present disclosure has been made in an effort to solve the problems described
above and an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a dental mask having
an anti-flow and fogging function which has a nose ridge contact cover attached to
the upper portion of the inside of a mask body, thereby being maintained at a normal
wearing state without moving out of the ridge of the nose because it does not slip
down even if a user talks or yawns with the mask on, thereby preventing glasses from
being fogged by exhalation, and thereby keeping both sides of the mask body in close
contact with the cheeks of the wearer without coming off from the cheeks.
MEANS OF SOLVONG THE PROBLEM
[0009] The dental mask according to the present disclosure is that since a nose ridge contact
cover is disposed at the upper end on the inner surface of the dental mask, the nose
ridge contact cover comes in close contact with the ridge of a nose when the mask
is worn, whereby the mask does not slip down when the user talks, glasses are prevented
from being fogged by completely blocking gaps around the ridge of the nose when a
user wears the mask, and both sides of the mask body come in close contact with the
cheeks of a wearer.
EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0010] Since the dental mask of the present disclosure has a structure in which the upper
end and both sides of the nose ridge contact cover having a uniform width are bonded
to the upper end of the inner surface of the mask body formed in a rectangular shape,
the center portion of the lower end of the nose ridge contact cover which is not bonded
to the mask body is held in close contact with the ridge of a nose when the mask is
worn. Accordingly, even if a wearer talks or yawns with the mask on, the mask does
not move out of the ridge of a nose, so the mask can be maintained in the normally
worn state without slipping down. Further, since the nose ridge contact cover blocks
gaps while being in close contact with the ridge of a nose and the curved portions
at both sides of the ridge of the nose, it is possible not only to prevent viruses
from entering through the gaps, but to prevent glasses from being fogged by exhalation.
[0011] Further, when the mask is put on and the ear bands are hung on ears, the upper end
and the lower end of the sides of the rectangular mask body are pulled outward by
the ear bands. Further, the height of the nose ridge contact cover increases with
the center of the lower end of the nose ridge contact cover in close contact the ridge
of a nose, and both sides of the mask body are pulled inward. Accordingly, both sides
of the mask body come in close contact with the cheeks of the wearer without coming
off. Therefore, it is possible to completely solve the problem that when a common
dental mask without a nose ridge contact cover is worn, both sides of the mask body
come off from the cheeks of the wearer, whereby leakage occurs or various viruses
or dust enter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012]
FIG. 1 is a view showing the outer surface of a dental mask according to the present
disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a view showing an embodiment in which all of the sides of a nose ridge contact
cover attached to the inner surface of a mask body have been bonded.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are views showing embodiments in which both sides of the nose ridge
contact cover have been partially bonded and part of the lower end have not been bonded.
FIG. 4 is a view showing the state in which the nose ridge contact cover has been
separated from the mask body; and
FIG. 5 is a view showing the state when the dental mask according to the present disclosure
is worn.
[Reference Numbers]
[0013]
- 10:
- dental mask
- 11:
- mask body
- 111:
- wrinkled portion
- 112:
- nose wire
- 12:
- the nose ridge contact cover
- 121:
- bonded portion
- 122:
- non-bonded portion
- 13:
- ear band
DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0014] A dental mask having an anti-flow and fogging function according to the present disclosure
is composed of: a rectangular mask body configured to cover the mouth and nose of
a wearer and having a nose wire embedded in the upper end thereof; and ear bands attached
to both sides of the mask body, respectively, to prevent the mask body from separating
from a face when the mask is worn. The dental mask includes a nose ridge contact cover
of which the upper end and both sides are bonded to the upper portion of the inner
surface of the mask body, the upper end of the nose ridge contact cover is positioned
below the portion where the nose wire is embedded in the mask body, and the lower
portion of the nose ridge contact cover is separated from the mask body such that
the nose ridge contact cover is held in close contact with the ridge of the nose of
the wearer when the mask is worn.
[0015] Preferably, the upper end of both sides of the nose ridge contact cover is a bonded
portion bonded to the mask body, and the lower portion of the bonded portion at both
sides is a non-bonded portion separated from the mask body.
[0016] Preferably, the top-bottom height of the nose ridge contact cover is 1/2 to 1/3 of
the top-bottom height of the mask body.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0017] A mask having a nose ridge contact cover 12 attached thereto according to the present
disclosure is applied to dental masks having a rectangular mask body 11 and surgical
masks that are generally used by medical personnel such as doctors and nurses, and
is not applied to 3D masks separately having a nose ridge contact cover, which is
held on the ridge of a nose, at the upper portion of a mask body and a chin cover
at the lower portion and 2D masks of which the mask body is folded such that the upper
end of the folded portion is naturally held on the ridge of a nose. Accordingly, it
should be noted that the term 'dental mask' used therein includes not only a dental
mask, but a surgical mask.
[0018] A dental mask 10 has a rectangular mask body 11 for covering the mouth and nose of
a wearer and ear bands 13 attached to both side of the mask body 11, respectively,
to prevent the mask body from separating from the face of the wearer when the wearer
wears the mask, in which a nose wire 112 that is folded to fit to the shape of the
ridge of a nose when the mask is worn is embedded in the center portion of the upper
end of the rectangular mask body 11, the edges of the rectangular shape are bonded,
and the mask body 11 has a wrinkled portion 111 having a two-step or three-step wrinkled
structure such that the folded portion is unfolded and the area increases to fit to
the shape of the face of the wearer when the mask is worn, which is the general structure
of a dental mask.
[0019] The most characteristic part of the dental mask 10 according to the present disclosure
is the nose ridge contact cover 12. The nose ridge contact cover 12 is positioned
at the upper end of the inner surface of the mask body 11 with both sides and the
upper end bonded to the mask body 11 (see FIG. 2). 'Bonding' is to couple two parts,
so sewing is also included in the meaning of the term 'bonding'.
[0020] The nose ridge contact cover 12 has a quadrilateral shape such as a rectangle or
a trapezoid having a uniform width (the 'width' means the top-bottom height), but
is not limited to the quadrilateral shape and may have various shapes such as a quadrilateral
shape with the lower ends of both sides chamfered or rounded like an arc. The lower
portion of the nose ridge contact cover 12 may also be rounded. The nose ridge contact
cover 12 may be formed in various shapes, for example, by vertically cutting the center
of the lower portion by a predetermined length or triangularly cutting the lower portion
(see FIGS. 3A and 3B). When the center of the lower portion of the nose ridge contact
cover 12 is cut by a predetermined length or triangularly cut, the cut portion or
the triangle shape is held on the ridge of a nose, so the nose ridge contact cover
12 comes in further close contact with the curved portions around the ridge of a nose,
thereby being able to increase the effect of preventing fogging and leaking.
[0021] The nose wire 112 is bent into the shape of the ridge of a nose to maintain the shape
of the mask body when the mask is worn. However, according to the present disclosure,
since the nose ridge contact cover 12 is held on the ridge of the nose in close contact
with the ridge of the nose, so the there is no specific function that the nose wire
112 can provide, so the nose wire is not a necessary part. A nose wire may be used
for the wrong purpose as an offensive weapon by prisoners in correctional institutions.
However, the dental mask according to the present disclosure does not necessarily
need a nose wire and is economically superior to a 2D mask and a 3D mask in terms
of structure, so the dental mask is an optimal mask to be used in correctional institutions.
[0022] In the shape of the noise ridge contact cover 12, since the lower portion is separated
from the mask body 11 without being bonded, when the nose wire 112 is folded to fit
to the shape of the ridge of a nose and the lower portion of the nose ridge contact
cover 12 is separated from the mask body 11 with the mask on, a space is formed between
the nose ridge contact cover 12 and the inner surface of the mask body 11. Accordingly,
it is possible to wear the dental mask 10 with the nose ridge contact cover 12 at
the portion where the space is formed on the ridge of a nose (see FIG. 4).
[0023] It is preferable that the upper end of the nose ridge contact cover 12 is positioned
below the portion where the nose wire 112 is embedded in the mask body 11 when the
upper end of the nose ridge contact cover 12 is bonded to the mask body 11. Since
the nose ridge contact cover 12 is positioned below the portion where the nose wire
112 is embedded in the mask body 11, the nose ridge contact cover 12 can come in close
contact with the ridge of a nose without being interfered by the nose wire 112. Further,
since both sides of the nose ridge contact cover 12 are bonded to the mask body 11,
the nose ridge contact cover 12 is held at both sides not to slip down. Further, since
the upper end of the nose ridge contact cover 12 is bonded below the nose wire 112,
even though a wearer holds and pulls down the mask body 11 by hand, only the mask
body 11 is slightly moved down and the nose ridge contact cover 12 is kept in close
contact with the ridge of a nose.
[0024] If the nose ridge contact cover 12 is bonded over the portion where the nose wire
112 is embedded in the mask body 11, not only the contact force that brings the nose
ridge contact cover 12 in close contact with the ridge of a nose decreases, but the
nose wire 112 cannot come in contact with the ridge of the nose when the mask is worn.
Further, the wrinkled portion 111 is not fully flattened and the nose ridge contact
cover 12 protrudes from the upper portion of the mask body 11, which is not good for
the external appearance. Further, the protruding portion may interfere with the view,
so it is inconvenient to wear the mask.
[0025] Since a nose wire is not embedded in the nose ridge contact cover 12, the nose ridge
contact cover 12 can be flexibly brought in close contact with the ridge of a nose.
Accordingly, the gaps at the curved portions at both sides of the ridge of a nose
are completely blocked, whereby viruses are prevented from entering through the gaps.
Further, it is possible to prevent glasses from being fogged due to exhalation from
a wearer talking with mask on or breathing. Further, since both sides of the nose
ridge contact cover 12 are bonded to the mask body 11, when the mask is put on and
the ear bands 13 are hung on ears, the upper end and the lower end of the sides of
the rectangular mask body 11 are pulled in the side direction by the ear bands 13.
Further, the mask body 11 is pulled inward due to the bonded portions at both sides
of the nose ridge contact cover 12 while the height of the nose ridge contact cover
is increased as the center of the power end is held on the ridge of a nose. Accordingly,
the nose ridge contact cover 12 does not slip down and both sides of the mask body
11 come in close contact with the cheeks of the wearer without coming off. Therefore,
the problem that both sides of the mask body come off from the cheeks of the wearer
when a user wears a common dental mask is completely solved.
[0026] However, according to 3D masks, a nose ridge contact cover is disposed as a separate
part on the upper portion of a dome-shaped mask body and a nose wire is embedded in
the nose ridge contact cover. Accordingly, when the mask is put on with the nose wire
folded to fit to the shape of the ridge of a nose, the mask blocks the gaps at the
curved portions at both sides of the ridge of the nose in the early stage, but even
after a short time, the nose wire is unfolded due to elasticity, whereby the mask
cannot block the gaps at the curved portions at both sides of the ridge of the nose.
Therefore, there is a problem that it is impossible to prevent not only entrance of
viruses through the gaps, but fogging. Similarly, for 2D masks, since a nose wire
is embedded in the upper end of the mask body, the same problem as that of the 3D
mask is generated. However, since a nose wire is not embedded in the nose ridge contact
cover 12 according to the present disclosure and the nose ridge contact cover 12 is
flexible, the nose ridge contact cover 12 comes in close contact with the ridge of
a nose regardless of the size of the wearer's face or nose. Accordingly, it is possible
to completely solve the problem that is generated in 2D masks and 3D masks.
[0027] FIG. 2 shows an embodiment in which both sides of the nose ridge contact cover 12
are entirely bonded to the mask body 11. However, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, both
sides of the nose ridge contact cover 12 may be not entirely, but partially bonded.
In detail, the upper portion of both sides of the nose ridge contact cover 12 is a
bonded portion 121 bonded to the mask body, and the portion below the bonded portion
121 of both sides is a non-bonded portion 122 not bonded to the mask body 11.
[0028] When the mask is worn and the nose ridge contact cover 12 is separated from the mask
body 11, the nose ridge contact cover 12 and the non-bonded portions 122 at the lower
portion and both sides of the nose ridge contact cover 12 where the mask body 11 are
not bonded are separated from the mask body 11 and a space is formed between the nose
ridge contact cover 12 and the inner surface of the mask body 11. Accordingly, the
mask is worn with the nose ridge contact cover 12 on the ridge of the wearer's nose
at the portion where the space is formed such that the nose ridge contact cover 12
is held in close contact with the ridge of the nose.
[0029] Since the non-bonded portions 122 that are not bonded to the mask body 11 are formed
at the lower ends of both sides of the nose ridge contact cover 12, people who have
a large nose can wear the mask without a problem. It is also possible to easily wear
the mask with the nose ridge contact cover 12 on the ridge of a nose regardless of
the size of the face or the nose. Both sides of the mask body 11 can come in close
contact with the wearer's cheeks while forming natural lines without being wrinkled.
[0030] It is preferable that the top-bottom height of the nose ridge contact cover 12 is
about 1/2 to 1/3 of the top-bottom height of the mask body 11. If the top-bottom height
of the nose ridge contact cover 12 is larger than 1/2 of the top-bottom height of
the mask body 11, not only it is difficult and inconvenient to wear the mask, but
the sides of the mask body 11 are wrinkled when the mask is worn. If the top-bottom
height is small to be 1/3 or less, the portion of the nose ridge contact cover 12
that is held on the ridge of a nose is small, so the nose ridge contact cover 12 cannot
be stably held on the ridge of a nose. Even if the nose ridge contact cover 12 is
held on the ridge of a nose, the nose ridge contact cover 12 slides, so the possibility
of the mask body 11 moves out of the ridge of a nose increases.
[0031] The nose ridge contact cover 12 may be separately attached after the mask body 11
is fabricated. However, it is preferable that the nose ridge contact cover 12 is composed
of two layers by folding a predetermined portion of the mask body 11 in the same way
as the method of forming the wrinkled portion 111 by folding a predetermined portion
of the mask body 11 when the mask is fabricated in order to increase convenience for
fabrication and reduce the manufacturing cost. The two-layered structure increases
the contact force that brings the nose ridge contact cover 12 in close contact with
the ridge of a nose, and increases the force holding the mask body 11 to prevent the
mask body 11 from moving out of the ridge of a nose. Further, the function of preventing
fogging by blocking the gaps at the curved portions around the ridge of a nose can
be improved, and the mask can be simply fabricated.
[0032] The above description is provided as an example of the present disclosure and the
embodiments described herein are provided to describe the present disclosure rather
than limiting the spirit of the present disclosure, so the present disclosure may
be changed and modified in various ways by those skilled in the art without departing
from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protective range of the present
disclosure should be construed by those described in claims and technical configuration
in the equivalent range should also be construed as being included in the scope of
the present disclosure.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0033] The dental mask according to the present disclosure is that since a nose ridge contact
cover is disposed at the upper end on the inner surface of the dental mask, the nose
ridge contact cover comes in close contact with the ridge of a nose when the mask
is worn, whereby the mask does not slip down when the user talks, glasses are prevented
from being fogged by completely blocking gaps around the ridge of the nose when a
user wears the mask, and both sides of the mask body come in close contact with the
cheeks of a wearer. So the dental mask according to the present disclosure can be
very useful.